Carrying container



1958 E. J. SPIEGEL, JR.. EI'AL 2,860,771

CARRYING CONTAINER INVENTORS SPI EGEL JR. ROBERT J. SCHQKNECHT WWW Eowm Filed Nov. 12. 1953 United States Patent CARRYING CONTAINER Edwin J. Spiegel, Jr., Webster Groves, and Robert J.

Schoknecht, Olivette, Mo., assignors to Crown Zellerbach Corporation, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Nevada Application November 12, 1953, Serial No. 391,552

Claims. (Cl. 206-65) This invention relates in general to a receptacle, and more particularly, to a carrying package for bottles, cans or other similar consumer goods. Carrying packages employing this invention may be constructed of paperboard or any other suitable bendable material.

The great quantities of beverages and other similar items which are sold to retail customers has popularized the use of light-weight, handled containers or carriers. With these handy carriers, it is possible for the consumers to select and easily carry 3, 6 or even more bottles or cans of beverages. It is highly desirable to provide a carrier which uses a minimum amount of material and yet is sufficiently strong to adequately protect the contents. It is also advantageous to provide a container which is easy to erect and load without requiring the use of special tools, fasteners, etc. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive, sturdy, easily erected container for the retail sale of bottled beverages, cans, etc.

Another object of this invention is to provide a container of the type described having an upstanding back wall which is bent to form a combination handle for the container and separator and retainer for the contents thereof.

A further object is to provide a carrying container having a combination back panel and handle member which may be positioned to permit easy drop loading of the contents in the container by modern, high-speed equipment.

Still another object is to provide a container of the type described wherein none of the elements of the carrier eX- tend above the level of the tops of the contents, thereby permitting the containers to be stacked one upon the other without injury to the carrier.

A still further object is to provide a carrier of the type described wherein the upstanding back wall panel and handle member provide a retaining means for the contents which will prevent the contents from falling out of the carrier even when the carrier is inverted, and which will permit the contents to be removed one at a time.

Another object of this invention is to provide a carrier which may be placed back to back with a similar carrier so that both carriers may be readily lifted with one hand.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the detailed description which follows.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank employing a preferred embodiment of this invention;

2,860,771 Patented Nov. 18, 1958 "ice longitudinal score 11 and parallel corner scores 12 defining opposing end walls 13 and a front wall 14. A higher back wall 15 is connected adjacent to one of the end walls 13 along a corner score 12.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the end walls 13 are provided with bottom marginal end flaps 16 which are partially defined by an inclined side 17 and a rectangular extension 18. The front wall 14 is provided with a bottom marginal front flap 19 which is defined in part by tapering side edges 20 and rounded locking cars 21. The back wall 15 .is likewise provided with a back flap 22 having a rectangular cut-out portion 23 in its free outer edge. The end flaps 16, the front flap 19 and the back flap 22 are each :foldably connected to their adjacent wall structure along the longitudinal score 11.

The back wall 15 extends considerably above the level of the front wall 14 and is provided with a series of bottle receiving openings 24. A glue or stitch flap 25 is foldably connected to the back wall 15 along a corner score 12.

The blank A may be erected in any desired manner, however, a preferred method is to fold the end walls 13, the front wall 14 and the rear wall 15 into right angular, tubular relationship about their adjacent corner scores 12 so that the glue flap 25 is in juxtaposition against the outer face of the adjacent end wall 13. The glue flap 25 is then secured to the side margin of the adjacent end wall by glue, stitches or any other desired means. In the particular blank described, a self-locking bottom structure is employed. The back flap 22 is folded inwardly about the adjacent portion of the longitudinal score 11 until it is in substantially right angular relationship with the back wall 15. Tne end flaps are then similarly folded inwardly aboard the longitudinal score 11 until they are in substantially flatwise relation with the exposed base of the back flap 22. Lastly, the front flap 19 is folded inwardly about the portion of the longitudinal score 11 which defines the bottom edge of the front wall 14. The front flap is bent inwardly until it is in contacting relation with the exposed faces of the previously positioned end flaps 16 and the back flaps 2% The front flap 19 is forced inwardly and upwardly into the body of the container and the rounded locking ears are thereby automatically bent outwardly and the free side margin of the front flap is automatically disposed into the cut-out portion 23 of the back flap 22. The bottom structure is now locked firmly into position and upon release of the front flap 19, the end flaps 16, and the back flap 22 will return to a horizontal position in right angles to their adjacent body portions. The container is erected and ready for loading.

The back wall 15 is positioned vertically upwardly thereby making it possible to drop thecontents B into the body portion C. As many automatic loading machines drop the bottles or other contents downwardly into the container, it is important to provide an unobstructed body portion. The container of this invention is of such a design as will readily admit of rapid high speed loading. After the contents B are positioned within the body portion C of the container, the upper portion 26 of the back wall 15 is then bent downwardly over the tops of the contents. In the drawings the contents illustrated are beverage bottles having standard top caps 27. The bottle receiving openings 24 are slightly smaller in diameter than the widest diameter of the top caps 27. The flexible, resilient nature of the material from which the blank A is formed, permits the bottle receiving openings 24 to enlarge temporarily as the upper portion 26 is forced overthe top caps 27. In effect, the portion 26 is snap locked into position. The upper portion 26 is automatically held in substantially horizontal, locking engagement between the top caps 27 and the bulbous neck 28 of the contents. The upper portion 26 is maintained in firm position since it is, in effect, seated inthe 'gioovelike portion 29.b etween the top caps 2'7 and the bulbous neck 28.

In order to liftthe container, it is merely necessary to insert the fingers of the hand against the underface of the upper portion26 as illustrated in Fig. 4. The upper portion 26 will be maintained firmly in position in the groove-like portion 29 of the contents. When the carrier is lifted as described, it is apparent that the contents B will actually be supported by the interlocking engagement between the top caps 27 and the upper portion 26 of the back wall 15.

In order to remove one or all of the contents from the carrier, it is merely necessary to force the upper portion 26 of the back wall15 upwardly over the top cap 27 of the particular article which is to be removed. It

is then a simple matter to lift the article from the contain er. The upper portions of the contents B are maintained in proper alignment by the upper portion 26 of the back wall 15 thereby preventing the contents from striking one another during transit. If desired, it will be possible to carry less than its full complement of articles within a container. For instance, in the container illustrated in the accompanying drawings, one or more of the articles might be removed and the container could still be utilized to transport the remaining contents. The carrier illustrated is designed to carry three bottles of beverage, however, it may be readily modified to hold any desired number of bottles. Furthermore, by slight modification of the carrier illustrated, it is apparent that the carrier could be adapted for transporting cans of beverage or other similar articles having top caps or similar top portions.

It is not intended that this invention be limited to the precise construction shown and described in the accompanying specification. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is susceptible of several modifications which will fall within the intended scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A carrying package having a body portion with aligned bottles or the like with crown caps or similar I top closures therein, the body portion having upstanding side and end walls, one side wall being substantially the height of the bottles or the like and having integral therewith an infolded upper marginal top portion with by the margins of the top portion defining said openings, the other of the side walls being of less height than the bottles or the like and having an upper free edge, the package thus being open from the upper free edge of the said other side wall up to the said infolded marginal top portion whereby the package may be carried by inserting ones fingers into the open side of the package and under the said infolded marginal top portion.

2. The carrying package as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the end walls and the said other side wall are of substantially the same height, and the package is thus open from the upper free edges of the said other side wall and the upper free edges of the end wall up to the said infolded marginal top portion.

3. The carrying package as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the said one side wall and the said other side wall of the body portion are of substantially the same length and the said one side wall has an upward extension terminating in the said infolded upper marginal top portion.

4. The carrying package as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the width and length of the said infolded upper marginal top portion substantially equals the width and length of the bodyportion.

5. A carrying package having a body portion with aligned bottles or the like with crown caps or similar top closures therein, the body portion having upstanding side and end walls, one side wall being substantially the height of the bottles or the like and having integral therewith an infolded upper marginal top portion with space-d openings therein, said openings being of smaller diameter than the diameter of the closure caps, said top portion extending only substantially in a horizontal plane with respect to its side wall and over the top of the bottles with the closure caps extending through the openings therein and having a terminal free end edge, said bottle closure caps being securely engaged by the margins of the top portion defining said openings, and the other side wall providing an unobstructed opening substantially the width of said side wall and defined by and between a terminal free upper edge thereof and the terminal free end edge of said top portion, whereby the package may be carried by inserting ones fingers into the last mentioned opening and under the said infolded marginal top portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

